Chicago Women's Open 2021: Women's singles draw analysis, preview & prediction

The inaugural Chicago Women's Open, one of the final events before the US Open, commences on 22 August. World No. 6 Elina Svitolina, Istanbul Open winner Sorana Cirstea and Roland Garros semifinalist Tamara Zidansek headline the WTA 250 event.

Also part of the draw is seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who took a last-minute wildcard and will open against Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei.

On that note, let's take a look at how the draw might unfold:

Top Half: Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina continues quest for first title of the year

Elina Svitolina with her bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics

Seeded players: [1] Elina Svitolina, [3] Sorana Cirstea, [6] Viktorija Golubic, [7] Kristina Mladenovic

Expected semifinal: Elina Svitolina vs Sorana Cirstea

Dark horse: Rebecca Peterson

Analysis: Top seed Elina Svitolina hasn't won a match in the US Open Series. The Ukrainian will be hoping to make a deep run in Chicago and gain some momentum before the final Major of the season. Svitolina begins her campaign at the Chicago Women's Open against a qualifier.

Things could get tricky for her from there on as she could come up against the hard-hitting Fiona Ferro in the second round.

Ferro has caused quite a lot of upsets in the past and will fancy her chances against the inconsistent Svitolina. However, she has struggled for form of late and comes to Chicago on the back of a disappointing loss in the qualifying rounds in Cincinnati.

Svitolina could face another Frenchwoman in the third round in the shape of Kristina Mladenovic. Mladenovic, a seven-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, hasn't won a match since making the Round of 16 in San Jose. But she has a relatively straightforward draw in Chicago, where she opens against a qualifier.

Should Svitolina emerge unscathed, she could face María Camila Osorio Serrano, Rebecca Peterson or Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals. Osorio Serrano won her maiden WTA title in Bogota earlier this year, while Cirstea won the Istanbul Open.

As for Rebecca Peterson, she recently made the semifinals of a Challenger event in Sweden. Peterson is not the most consistent of players, but she does have the game to pull off some upsets.

The highlight of the first round will be the clash between Hsieh Su-wei and the legendary Venus Williams. The American hasn't played since Wimbledon, where she progressed to the second round. Thus, she could be quite rusty when she takes the court in Chicago, which would make things difficult for her against the crafty Hsieh.

Semifinal prediction: Elina Svitolina def. Rebecca Peterson

Bottom half: Zidansek, Vondrousova look to bounce back after poor showings in Cincinnati

Marketa Vondrousova, Tennis - Olympics: Day 6

Seeded players: [4] Tamara Zidansek, [5] Marketa Vondrousova [8] Marta Kostyuk, [9] Alize Cornet

Expected semifinal: Marketa Vondrousova vs Tamara Zidansek

Dark horse: Heather Watson

Analysis: Following the withdrawal of Camila Giorgi, fourth seed Tamara Zidansek headlines the bottom half of the draw. The Slovenian advanced to her maiden Major semifinal at Roland Garros earlier this year and also won the title in Lausanne.

Zidansek lost her opener in Cincinnati and is searching for her first win in the US Open Series. The Slovenian will face Varvara Gracheva in the first round before a potential meeting with Heather Watson in the second.

Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova is also in this section of the draw. The Czech opens her campaign against a qualifier but could face the dangerous Alison Van Uytvanck in the second round.

Vondrousova, who lost in the first round in Cincinnati, will likely come up against ninth seed Alize Cornet in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, eighth seed Marta Kostyuk has landed in a tricky section of the draw. The Ukrainian hasn't played a match since Wimbledon and could be a little rusty. Kostyuk will lock horns with Katherine Sebov in the first round, before a potential meeting with hard-hitting Estonian Kaia Kanepi.

Kanepi is coming off a title at an ITF event in Estonia and is high on confidence. She should be able to overcome Kostyuk should they meet in the second round. The Estonian could then face Heather Watson in the third round.

The Brit is also in decent form. She won two matches to qualify for the main draw in Cincinnati, before posing a stern challenge to World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the round of 32. If Watson defeats Kanepi, she could come up against Vondrousova in the semifinals.

Semifinal prediction: Heather Watson def. Marketa Vondrousova